SAN FRANCISCO — In what has been a season rapidly trending in a disappointing direction, one of the few things the Golden State Warriors have been able to rely upon is Andrew Wiggins’ steady perimeter defense.
With five seconds left in the Christmas showcase game on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, that was placed in the spotlight. Steph Curry’s two miraculous 3s in the final 12.2 seconds pulled the Warriors into a sudden tie. They needed one stop to force overtime. Austin Reaves, who’d torched them most of the night, had the ball on the left wing isolated against Wiggins.
With a simple jab step, Reaves was able to easily blow past Wiggins on a lefty drive toward the baseline. As was relayed postgame, Jonathan Kuminga was too slow to recognize Reaves zipping past Wiggins and into his help area. Kuminga stayed too attached to Rui Hachimura, who had floated out of bounds. Wiggins provided little resistance.
It was a combination breakdown with a fatal result: Layup for Reaves and a 115-113 Lakers win, even without Anthony Davis most of the game, sending the Warriors deeper into a spiral. They are 3-11 in their last 14 games, dropping them to 15-14 after a scorching 12-3 start.
Austin Reaves killed the Warriors all game, beats Andrew Wiggins to the rim for the winner. The Warriors 15-14 after a 12-3 start. pic.twitter.com/sMGMHW7RE1
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 26, 2024
Before the game, starting center Trayce Jackson-Davis said there was a player-led meeting in which Curry was particularly vocal. He identified this upcoming stretch of schedule, as the Warriors careen back toward .500 with the calendar set to turn, at a pivotal point of the season, saying, as Jackson-Davis relayed, that it “can go one way or the other.”
“When Steph talks, he talks at the right moments,” Wiggins said. “It was needed.”
This wasn’t a lifeless performance by the Warriors. They had some juice, particularly Curry. He scored a season-high 38 points and made eight 3s, his most ever on Christmas. Wiggins hit three 3s and flew around most of the game, grabbing 12 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. Draymond Green had four blocks. Kuminga had some errors, but also muscled to the line for eight free throws at some relevant moments, making six.
They could’ve won with a few extra breaks or made shots or defensive stops. But they didn’t, which has been a theme of late. The Warriors lead the NBA in clutch games. Nineteen of their 29 games have been within 5 points in the final five minutes. Thirteen of their last 15 games have qualified. Almost everything lately has been nip and tuck in the fourth quarter and they keep finding ways to lose.
“It’s been tough trying to find any type of momentum or consistency,” Curry said of his pregame message. “You just can’t lose spirit, belief that we’re a good enough team to figure it out. Because this league is ruthless … You dig yourself a hole like, it can be hard to pull out of. Right now we’re right in that window where we can still gain some momentum. The next however many weeks before the (All-Star) break are pivotal. Or else we’re in a situation where we’re chasing down the stretch and nobody wants to be there.”
Part of the benefit of the Warriors’ 12-3 start was the idea that a perch atop the conference standings would allow them to selectively manage the workload of Curry and Green throughout the regular season. That luxury has faded quickly. The situation has again become urgent in a crowded West. At 15-14, they are tied for the eighth seed, only two games away from the fifth seed but only a half-game up on the 11th seed.
Every game, particularly against nearby rivals, is crucial. The Warriors are at the LA Clippers on Friday and at home against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, two of the nearest standings opponents. Curry played what Steve Kerr called a “hard” 36 minutes against the Lakers and Kerr said Curry may miss one of the two games. The game at LA seems the most likely.
“When the knee (tendinitis) popped up, (selective rest) was part of the conversation,” Curry said. “Still dealing with it to some (degree).”
The bumps don’t stop with Curry. Gary Payton had a burst layup during a run in the third quarter but came up limping on his left calf afterward. Payton has been relatively healthy this season, but a calf issue and the aggravation sent him to the locker room for the rest of the night. He limped out of the arena.
Dennis Schröder guards Austin Reaves during the second half. (Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
Dennis Schröder also limped around the locker room after the game. He tweaked his right ankle in the middle of what was another inefficient night for Schröder. He hasn’t been the offensive elixir that the Warriors had hoped when acquiring him last week. In his four games with the Warriors, Schröder is 11-of-39 shooting and 4-of-17 from 3.
Schröder has been tasked with running the second unit when Curry sits. They were fine in that block of the game against the Lakers, even trimming the Lakers lead from 7 to 3 points during Curry’s brief fourth-quarter rest. But overall Schröder is part of a rotation that is struggling to find any rhythm around Curry as Kerr continues to shake everything up.
Jackson-Davis is now back as the starting center. Kuminga has moved into a high-usage bench role. Podziemski is the third guard. Kyle Anderson hasn’t been seeing the floor. Moses Moody didn’t get a second on Wednesday.
“In fairness to our guys, we’ve been all over the map this year, rotation-wise,” Kerr said. “I’ve had a million different starting lineups. Guys are in and out of rotations. I’m well aware of that and it’s hard as a player to not know how many minutes you’re going to get, what minutes you’re going to get. The reality is we’re searching. We’ve lost 11 of 14 games. I don’t feel like this is a roster where you say, ‘Here are our top eight guys, top nine guys.’ Our roster is really deep. We have a lot of guys who can play. Every game calls for something different. That’s the issue.”
(Top photo of Steph Curry after sinking a 3-pointer to tie the score in the fourth quarter: Darren Yamashita / Imagn Images)
